


Black on White

by misura



Category: Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou Tou
Genre: M/M, Minor Kisaragi Hisui/Misato Aoi, Post-Canon, Reunions, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27859441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Kyouichi and Hisui travel to China and give one another meaningful romantic advice. More or less.
Relationships: Hiyuu Tatsuma/Houraiji Kyouichi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 3
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Black on White

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roseargent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseargent/gifts).



China spreads out before them, huge and endless and full of people not Tatsuma, and not a single part of Kyouichi takes a moment to stop and wonder, _why am I doing this? is it even worth it?_.

(He knows why. It is.)

"I have always - " Kisaragi says, one day out of the blue, stopping right before he gets to the actual point. Kyouichi gives him a look expressing the fact that this is not, in fact, something he's cool with. "From the very first time we met - "

"Ummm," Kyouichi says, because seriously, what? Also: why isn't there ever a bunch of thugs begging for a beating and a lesson in respect around when you need one?

Kisaragi looks away. "I knew that it could never be, of course. I had a duty."

"Oh," Kyouichi says, relieved and annoyed with himself (and maybe a bit with Kisaragi, too). "Aoi."

"Lady Misato is a person for whom I have the utmost respect," Kisaragi says, sounding impossibly serious and stuffy and so damn young at the same time that Kyouichi almost wants to either hug him or punch him.

"Uh, maybe not phrase it quite like that next time you meet her?" Kyouichi says, because it's probably going to be the two of them for a while yet, and he can always tease Hisaragi later.

Kisaragi gives him a look suggesting (falsely) that he doesn't need Kyouichi's romantic advise.

Kyouichi scoffs. "Whatever, dude."

"So. What will you tell Tatsuma?" Kisaragi asks, like he has any right to.

As it turns out, it's "Huh," because Tatsuma looks more or less exactly like Kyouichi's dreamt of, which is going to take some getting used to.

Kisaragi coughs. "I would like to go and take a closer look at the shrine."

(There's a whole damn lot of shrines in China, which is not something Kyouichi thought he'd ever have an actual opinion on, but here they are. And here Tatsuma is, looking like he should one day be worshipped at one of them - or a couple of them. Saving the world's gotta come with some perks, right? Not that Kyouichi would consider 'shrines dedicated to your memory' much of a perk.)

Tatsuma smiles. He looks like Kyouichi's woken him from a nap, possibly because that's exactly what has happened, and if Kyouichi finds that super-annoying, well, that's his problem, isn't it?

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

Kyouichi scoffs. "You don't write, you don't call - what else is a guy supposed to do? And by the way, what gives? I thought we were friends."

Tatsuma looks genuinely, blessedly surprised. "I tried to talk to you in your dreams. I thought it worked. You're here, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah." Kyouichi feels off-balance. Things were easier when he, they were dealing with the end of the world, murder demons left and right - even the whole 'everyone deserves a second chance, even people who are totally rotten to the core and/or killed my parents' thing that Kyouichi knows he's never going to get the way Tatsuma and Aoi get it, because - well, he's not a saint, all right?

He says, "You couldn't meet me halfway or something?" He wants to ask, _You couldn't stay?_ , but he's not sure what he's going to do if it turns out that this is Tatsuma's house now, and these are Tatsuma's new friends, and now that the fighting's all done, there's no room for Kyouichi anywhere anymore.

Tatsuma looks away. "I had to get away for a while. To keep everyone safe. To - I've changed, Kyouichi."

 _Well,_ Kyouichi thinks. _That doesn't sound ominous_ at all _._ He says, "Yeah?"

Tatsuma smiles at him, and it's still the same smile, the one that makes Kyouichi want to do stupid things, like walk all over China to look for a guy who no longer needs him, in the company of a guy who at one point decided killing himself was better than having an honest conversation about his feelings with the girl he loved.

(Kisaragi's the absolute _worst_ at relationships, is Kyouichi's point, and the fact that he tried to have a conversation about the topic of Tatsuma and Kyouichi's feelings about Kyouichi would be hella hilarious if it also wasn't kind of sad.)

"You didn't notice?" Tatsuma asks, gesturing, and Kyouichi wants to laugh and smack him at the same time.

"Blue hair, white hair, big whoop. As long as you're you, that's all that matters to me, dude."

"Thank you," Tatsuma says, as if he's the one who's gotten himself all tied up in knots over this meeting, instead of Kyouichi. "I'm - I'm really glad you're here, Kyouichi."

Kyouichi decides to go for a hug. Tatsuma feels warm, normal, human, like he's maybe lost some weight in the process of turning into some sort of vessel for divine superpowers of good and back again.

"Told you, didn't I? We're friends. You can't get rid of me just by moving to another country. You want me to leave you alone, you're going to have to tell me yourself, in person, and even then, I'll double-check to make sure it's really you talking."

"I would never do that," Tatsuma says.

"Good," Kyouichi says.

True to his word, Kisaragi's at the shrine. It turns out it has a small gift shop attached to it, which Kisaragi seems remarkably unoffended by - or maybe he just feels that a former dealer in antiques has no right to judge. (Ha!)

"Hey," Kyouichi says. "Know what, why don't you send her a postcard?"

Kisaragi looks as if the concept of sending people postcards is completely foreign to him. (Honestly, Kyouichi wonders, has any of them had an ordinary, regular-people childhood?)

Feeling like a person of high virtue and impeccable taste, Kyouichi picks one out, more or less at random, though honestly, it's not like there's all that much variety.

"Please tell me you at least have her address." Kyouichi realizes he doesn't; he's probably got it written down somewhere with his school stuff, but he didn't bring any of that with him. He's pretty sure slash cautiously hopeful he's officially graduated by now; he figured that would be good enough.

"Yes," Kisaragi says. It turns out he's even brought a pen.

"Write something," Kyouichi instructs, feeling - well, maybe he didn't tell Tatsuma in so many words, but Kyouichi figures they have an understanding. They don't need to get all sappy and lovey-dovey about stuff. They can just - take things easy. Let it happen at its own pace. They have all the time in the world, now, and neither of them's going anywhere - not without the other one, anyway.

'I send you respectful greetings,' Kisaragi writes, like a dunce.

Kyouichi takes away his pen and writes, 'I love you', like someone not afraid to talk about his feelings. His hand-writing doesn't really resemble Kisaragi's much.

Kisaragi frowns at him. Kyouichi grins. "You're welcome."

For a moment, he thinks Kisaragi's going to fight him, but in the end, Kisaragi just selects another postcard and writes what Kyouichi assumes to be the shrine's address on it, and 'to Hiyuu Tatsuma, from Houraji Kyouichi', putting it down on the counter in front of Kyouichi like a challenge.

Like Kyouichi's ever back down from a challenge in his life.

"You sure about this?" Kyouichi asks. If he's dreamt of Tatsuma, he doesn't remember it, which means he probably hasn't. There's no reason why he should, after all: if he wants to spend more time with Tatsuma, the real thing's right there.

"It's time," Tatsuma says, looking determined and, if Kyouichi's honest with himself, not quite human anymore. It's not the hair, and it's not the eyes; it's something Kyouichi can't quite put his finger on, other than to say that if Tatsuma weren't his friend, Kyouichi might feel sort of cool with worshiping him as some kind of saint or deity. From a safe distance and with no obligation whatsoever to take any shit.

Since Tatsuma _is_ his friend, Kyouichi says, "So hey, about what I wrote on that postcard."

"You sent me a postcard?" Tatsuma looks at once pleased and puzzled. "Sorry. I didn't get it. When did you send it?"

Kyouichi decides not to say, _yesterday_. "Never mind. Forget about it."

"No, no, I'm curious now. What did you write?"

"Nothing," Kyouichi says, which is so obviously a lie that he feels he should choke on it. "Um, hey. You know I love you, right? As a really good friend, I mean."

"Well. I admit that I was hoping we could maybe go on a date sometime, but if you don't feel the same, that's cool. I understand." Tatsuma sounds like he means every word.

Kyouichi imagines it's probably true - which means that, as usual, it's all up to him. (All right, not 'as usual'; they work best as a team, except for that one time when Tatsuma had to go and be a golden dragon, and Kyouichi couldn't do anything other than come and track his lazy ass down all the way to China.)

"Uh," he says. "Nah. I guess we can date. Or something."

"Good." Tatsuma smiles, and it's the sun and the moon and everything bright and joyful in the world. "That makes me really happy."

Kyouichi realizes he's in so much trouble it's not even funny. It feels kind of good - after all, when has he ever _not_ been in some sort of trouble? And hey, it's not even the fate of the world at stake this time. He says, "Same," knowing he's grinning.

"Please," Kisaragi says, "don't feel any need to move things along on my account."

Kyouichi scoffs. "Oh, puh-lease. Like five minutes is going to make any difference when we're walking all the way back to Japan. Can someone explain to me _why_ we're doing that, by the way? I'm sure we could take a bus or train or something at least part of the way."

"Sometimes, it's not about the destination, but about the journey to get there."

"You mean you're being a total chickenshit about how Aoi's going to respond to your confession, right?"

("Oh, hey, I brought you some strawberry milk. I think it's still good.")

("Thank you. That's even better than a postcard saying 'I love you'.")

("... wait.")


End file.
